As is known in the art of dust control, water alone, water with additives, or other liquids, usually oily liquids, must be applied to materials generating dust and to the dust itself in order to abate its deleterious effects. Dusts result from separating bulk materials into small particles by numerous processes. Dust control is generally required where construction and other materials processing operations are involved. Dusts are classified as nuisance or injurious. Injurious dusts cause property damage, damaging health effects, or both. Often, especially during hot, dry weather, bulk materials require large amounts of water applied often for effective dust control.
Bulk materials being processed are usually sprayed with water, oil, or oily emulsion to prevent dust generation. Using wet dust control methods, bulk materials and soils must be kept moist to the touch, except where blanketing technology or other specialized technology is used. Bulk materials are sometimes soaked in tanks of liquid prior to processing. When sprayed, dust palliatives are usually distributed by a truck, being sprayed on the material from a trailer pulled by a tractor rig. Costs of water, as well as the equipment and labor costs for distributing the water, are significant.
The present invention is useful to provide an economical method of controlling dust that reduces the amount of water required and the time required for each application. It is further desirable that such method decreases the frequency of applications both for reducing application cost, as well as preventing the rate of fugitive water loss by drift and evaporation that accompany the spraying process itself.